n m Z

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;p ｾ Ｌ ;!l n ｾ

7.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR WATER ENVIRONM1':NTS.

RIVER TOURISM AND WATER LEISURE ACnVfTll':S

Claudete Oliveira Moreira & Norberta Pinto dos Santos

The timeless importance of water: 'heritagization' and 'musealization'

Water has always fascinated humans. It has been respon::il.II' Iltl establishing the earliest human settlements and today it still illf'hll'!II'C" population distribution. The coast and shore are just as attrildivl' 01',

rivers and lakes. The reservoirs that supply drinking water provid,' opportunities for the utilization of various factors that are importallt ill daily life and in social economics. They offer accessibility, mobility, lIlt' satisfaction of basic needs - contributing to nutrition, for instanCl" (II III are the setting for recreational pursuits. They have symboli,' significance, too, associated with religion and the divine.

Rivers have always been present, in every era of h/ll1\illl civilization, and they simultaneously represent plenty and destnll'lillll, life and death, and down the centuries they have become idvnli(l,'d with the societies they support. Indeed, the power and image of 111,IIIV

civilizations is intrinsically linked to the successful exploit<1t it 11\ "I water (Mauch and Zeller, 2008).

Rivers attracted and settled the earliest communities; they II00v,'

gone hand in hand with the progress of history and civi(izllllllll, because the most fertile fields, many major cities and the first fcw!lll'l, 'Ii can be found on their banks, They are identified with ecol10llll1

Water and Tourism. Resources Management, Planning and Sustainabilit.y. CI'IlII'1I

de Estudos Geograticos, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa 2010: 147-168,

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Idll!t')',il':11 ,Il'tivollion :Issol'ial('d with the pI'CS\'III'" "I \V.II"I ,1I,d l'iv,'r!",nk ('('()sysl\'JllS, uccaU1;C of the cultural, humalll",I't1 11I'!'llllgC

(, ,,) 111('011' witness tol a mutual accommodation of society and nature" C1i1I':liVoI, 'I Sl99: 95). A range of human activities have always been Ii II k(\d wry c10scly to rivers: the supply of water for drinking, fishing, I[(rlliing, industry and, more recently, leisure and tourism.

ｔ ｨ ｴ ｾ attraction of riverbanks is crucially important in the history of humankind, such that organizations and people are willing to take risks It, locate their property and belongings there, and settle there. So we h"vc a game of trade-offs between the perceived threats and ､ Ｈ ｾ ｳ ｌ ｲ ｵ ｣ ｴ ｩ ｶ ･ effects or disruption of human activities and their property :Inc! the relocation of activities. This behaviour has led to the cyclic ('xposure of some riparian populations to flooding. There are various situations in Portugal worthy of mention. Figure 7.1 shows that the main Portuguese rivers are liable to flooding and this is particularly iIn portant when inhabited localities are invaded. Low-lying valleys liable to flooding are very favourable to rice cultivation, dividing walls with salt production and fish-farming (separated by water salinity I(·vels). The floods caused by the ｉ ｾ ｩ ｶ ･ ｲ Tejo (in the ｓ ｡ ｮ ｴ ｡ ｮ ｾ ｭ valley), J{iver Douro (in Regua and Foz), River Mondego (in Coimbra and l3aixo Mondego) bursting their banks are territorial markers that bestow highly individual features to these areas. It has been necessary to build dikes, weirs and dams (references of water architecture) (rigure 7.1), and these are wih'lesses to such historic episodes (collective memory of the localities) are records of tourist interest.

The length of time over which water has been used by human societies meant that engineering and architecture specific to water environments have been developed, and are now tourist attractions, This is certainly the very much the case in Portugal. Water-related architecture is of great interest in many parts of the world and Portugal is certainly no exception: bridges, special structures of reference on all of the nation's rivers; springs and fountains that bring water from the rivers to the people; aqueducts and their arcades, landmarks of other modes of channelling water for people's consumption; spas, offering health treatments associated with rivers and streams; dams, which join opposite banks and create aquatic landscapes; and water mills (fluvial or marine), relics of traditional activities now fallen into disuse. These are some of the architectural forms we interact with, In fact, these human constructions - some of

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j

A Dam or ....eir

RIver

Re5ervoir

_ Flood.

ｃ ｾ Hfdro¢raphjc basIn

50 100 ____===:=l.Km

Source. Based on SNIRH and the Associa<;ao PoJtLlgues<I de RecLtrsos H idricos,

which are true monuments, bold, beautiful and inspiring - have in water the main reason for being built, and enjoy a very close and intimate relationship. Furthermore, today they lie within the scope of' museology, with proposals related to water (tide-mills) or their products (salt).

\!JIII'tlIII 1'1 ill'\' 1'I',a! works of enginecring th'll nil IlIrOII)',11 IIIWII:, ,II Ii I IIi'ldrl ,lIlil II'nvc <:In indelible l1,ark on them, BUl llll'y W,'I'\' 1II'II"lI,'!1 Y tl) :lllpply water to large population centres. !\qlll'll1ll't:;

W,'I'" III I"el ,ldive extensions of rivers in clearly-defined pcri(,ds of Idl.ltllY ,llld tuday they enhance the regions where they werc build ,11111 ,lIlmd l'IJIlrists to them,

Tidl' mills and water mills have also been categorised as herilage, !\ 1I1111lher of them have been restored and turned into restaurants or I1ll1SI'lln,s (Moinho de Mare de Corroios, in the Tejo estuary, Museu ,Iii Af,ua in the Barbadinhos Steam Pump Station, Museu da Agua in M,"rlola, Museu da Agua in Coimbra for instance) providing new Iollrisl' products in the region,

It was at the start of this century that local river resources began III be appreciated, with local authorities starting to understand the i111portance of investing in tourist attractions based on fluvial 1'lIvironments. Among relevant initiatives are: the Zezere Ecomuseum, ill Belmonte (2001), the Rio Minho Aquamuseum in Vila Nova de ('('rveira (2005), the River Museum created in Alcoutim (2006), and I'lie Fluviario (fluvarium) de Mora (2007).

Water, leisure and tourism: the affirmation of river tourism

Freshwater is a valuable tourist resource on which the appeal of ,) tourist destination can depend (Lootvoet and Roddier-Quefelec, 'm(9). Water, particularly when it is clear and cool, is essential for l'xploiting leisure and tourism services the world over: "water l'I'SOLI rces, both linear and enclosed, are a vital ingredient of the l'IHlnlryside scene, whether for purely visual pleasure or for the direct ::llpport of recreational activities" (Glyptis, 1991: 8). Water does illlkcd have a great fascination for a large number of people; it is "\I('n the main motivation for choosing a destination, and marine, rivcr and lake environments are equally important. It is no accident t'ha t water has been called "the sparkle in the jewel of landscape" (I'atmore, 1983: 205), A range of tourist products have been built up flround water: river tourism, nautical tourism, sun and sea, spas, health and wellbeing, active leisure and adventure tourism. The National Strategic Plan for Tourism (PENT) 2007 includes what are regarded as the 10 strategic products for tourist development in I'ortugal, based on the suitability and ｣ ｯ ｭ ｰ Ｈ ｾ ｴ ｩ ｴ ｩ ｶ ･ potential of Portugal, market share and likelihood of growth,

A tourist product that has received considcrable attention, in terms of both supply and demand, is thal of spas and wellbeing

1"111 il./II. 'I'liis 11:1:, Illll!" 1""'11 Ｂ Ｚ ｉ ｾ ｬ Ｈ Ｉ Ｈ ［ ｩ ､ ｬ ｬ Ｎ Ｚ ､ wiI'I1IH',lIlh ,!lId 1111' Ir""tlllo'I'1I ill IIIIH'SSCS, and rclil:d un the geological features i:lnd Ill'nll'l'lllltl,':" TIlt' diversification of tourist products through the cOl1lbin:ilillll \11 ill('I'I'i:lsed supply and levelling out of demand has led to the h1Ill't iOl I

of spas being rethought (Figure 7.2).

rig. 7,2 - Distribution of disused spas subject to concessions together with 1.1('1\'('1:1

and warm springs for partial bathing, public baths and baths for taking tl1l' waters, together with the neotectonics, in mainland Portugal

j

• PartialllallJin& .. p,.bfiD B.thl>

• • !laths for bIOr>g till' lllalers NeoteaanKS/:. .

I "

..... .-.. ........,.it . . (\ / \

so JOO ____===::J::::lKm

Source: Carta Geologica de Portl.lgall:500.000 (al <http://www.aguas.ics.ul.pt/>)

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ｬ Ｇ ｉ ｉ ｉ Ｇ ｉ ｉ ｬ Ｉ ｾ Ｇ ｗ Ｂ (Salltos ill'lL! Cunh<l, :l()UH: :11:1 t:I), The facilities thl11 used to Ill' fell' It('ullh i.lI'C now interlinked wilh alternative rnedicines, nOn-IllvoIsivl' medical treatments and beautYr they are involved with II,jslln'r in our society where appearance is valued more and more, and ,1 IImlt11y hody it is an absolute essential for the majority of the middle lllill llpper classes (Santos and Cravidaor in press),

The changeover from a model of leisure with spa amenities to a ('llllure of sun and beach meant that the geography of tourism in I>orlugal changed from the first quarter of the 20th century. The spas losl ground to coastal bathing resorts and places like Figueira da Fozr

J':spinho and Povoa do Varzim came to the fore, all of them having msinos (Costa, 2010: 266 ff).

The end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st have offered oInother change in our relationship with aquatic environments. There was another shift in the second half of the 20th century. The rivers have increasingly been subjected to human intervention with the construction of canals standardized in line with the need to transport ｲ ｾ ｯ ｯ ､ ｳ and with the building of dams to control flows and to be t'xploited in other ways: to generate electricity; to form reservoirs of water for industrial and household consumption and irrigation purposes, with the lakes increasingly becoming aquatic environments suitable for recreational and tourist activities. The dams and modification of river courses have been very important in controlling excessive flows and so reducing the risk of serious flooding. They have also served as a resource for exploiting freshwater tourist activities. According to Glyptis (1991: 9) flartificial water bodies support a range of recreational usesrr , and so there has been a great deal of tourist-related investment in hotels, in sailing clubsr in tourist activity enterprisesr and in marinas beside lakes created by dams and weirs, They are perfect locations for holding events, good examples being the Canic;adar Aguieirar Castelo de Boder Montargil and Alqueva dams. In this context the creation of nautical centres in inland regions has been very important (examples being the Centro Nautico do Zezere, Centro Nautico de Castelo de Bode, Centro Nautico de Constanda - where the River Zezere joins the River Tejo-'lnd the Centro Nautico de Reguengos de Monsaraz - on the Alqueva reservoir. They certainly illustrate some of the investment made in the hinterland of Portugal to encourage leisure and tourism,

1'1\ "J Illilll'llll 1',1\1 '.j 1111 1;"1 ,ill, 1IIIII,t! 10 "'V"III, 1:11,(": ｾ｜ｬｬ､

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1111'\11"" I>O[1lillg lUll! 1',1,11'1', 1III'll11gh huge Jocks on .. ivI'l':! Ilk,' 1111' I lillii'll, ;IIIJ nauticall'l'\'J'I',dion on leisure ctaft, and ':HIU,lIil' '\l'llylll'''I'

iJIl'llld,' fishingr bathing/swimming, canyoning, hydJ'll11jll'l'dllll'j r1Vl'I'u;)rding, raftingr sailing, waterskiingr and so forti!. ｾ［ｵ If I" illlilmtant to pinpOint the potential of Portugal in terms of l'ivl'l toul'ism, exploiting first the raquatic activities' and then thc' 'lloliltl, "I activities'.

Aquatic activities related to leisure and river tourism

According to Cavaco and Simoes (1998: 200), /lriversidl' 1'1'( '1"'01 111111

has changed its profile and course of development in recenl d," ,Ill,· First because leisure pursuits have social value todaYr for 01 )',II'ill

many reasons. Second, because massified leisure and SlJIl-i11 II I '11',1

tourism appeal to the emergence of alternativesr thereby pavill/', 1111'

way for the development of riverside recreation and tourism". Interest is growing in nurturing outdoor leisure activities ill II, '"

maritime aquatic environments: rivers, reservoirsr estuaries, ｌ ｴ ｫ ｴ Ｌ ｾ Ｌ

lagoons. People are increasingly chOOSing leisure and tourist activit I,' that take them away from the coast and find forms of recreation ill non-maritime aquatic environmentsr particularly on rivers and IWIII'

their banks, Even in the 1930s a study on the Lima and MondC'I',1l rivers acknowledged that fl an element of scenographic valtlcr th\' river is thus a major rcaligeogrMicor and tourist motivatioll" (Machado, 1930: 75). Ramalho Ortigao mentions in his book As Praill,'; de Portugal (The Beaches of Portugal)r which was first published ill 1876r that IIS0 healthYr so hygienicr so little used in Porlug;ll, unfortunatelYr river bathing spots could largely replace the costly 1:)C'11

bathingr to some advantage, If my humble voice could be heard by the town halls of our rural municipalities, it would ask them III consult their medical or health officers on this issue of hydrotherapy, and benefit their citizens by building a small wooden booth on thei I' river where people who were instructed to take this option cOllld bathe for freef/ (Ortigaor 2002: 164).

One product that is becoming increasingly valued by lor',t! authorities is river bathing. River beaches are now a direct alternaLivt', or perhaps combined withr sun and sea tourism. So the utilization (\1 the potential of bathing and recreation areas in non-marine wat.('J' environments is a form of democratization through leisure activities.

____

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;11111 Il\' (Olllld, <:llld which arc 1'1,\1' J'I'I11IIVI,d 1"""1 1111' l'I'11WtlH, i'ill'eSSes

ｾ Ｑ Ｑ Ｌ Ｌ Ｑ stmil1s of life in the city (although they are incrcn::;ingly easy to 1',"1 10) ore factors that are creating a new niche that must be ,11·v(·I()pcd and motivated.

In fact, "if local authorities act, on their own or jointly with Ill'ivale investors, the recreational potential of riverbank areas, with (!lei r combination of landscapes and watersports, can be exploited in ('Om pletely different ways from the coastal resorts. The range on offer vLHies widely and the quality falls short of what is wanted. Blue flags nrc few and far between, quality of services is less than ideal, they are often hard to get to (though this may be a qualifying factor for river rocreational spots)" (Santos and Cunha, 2008: 213),

Figure 7.3 shows the huge scale of investment that has been mnde in river beaches in Portuga1. While a lot of river beaches are still not included on the list compiled by the Guia de Portugal (<http://www.guiadeportugal.pt/>). often because they do not have t'he qualities required for certification, their distribution is evidence of the importance of this mode of utilizing natural resources in onjunction with structures and amenities created by humans in non-

marine water environments. The main hydrographic basins are those of the Mondego, Tejo, Vouga, Douro and, in the northwest of Portugal, the Minho, Lima, Ca.vado and Ave, and most of Portugal's river beaches are found in them. But not all rivers are exploited to the 'lame extent. Obviously weirs and dams, gulfs, creeks and reservoirs offer reasonable space for bathing, but this must be linked to organisation of the banks and the provision of minimum services (safety and hygiene), plus places to eat and socialize. All this depends heavily on the political will of the local authorities, The most attractive rivers for freshwater-related activities are fairly easy to pinpoint. Some are worthy of special mention, however, because they lire linked to extreme sports (discussed below), like the River Minho, the River Paiva which rises in the Serra da Nave, in Moimenta da l3eira, and the River Teixeira, and others, Others deserve attention because of the scale of investment, e.g. the River Pera, with its Praia de Ondas das Rocas, framed by the Serra da Lousa, and the River

eira, in Avo, which has a river beach where visitors can enjoy leisure

11 11'lji ,.! Ii\-' I Ih P Ill·t, III I!h1ltd.1JIII I III Ii ll}',ill

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• 1 ••, "," .' 1

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ｾＮf" .. .... ' River Beaches

1

• 2·4.' ... 0' \9 5·7

, ｾ cT-Wate",heds'>1'''''''' Rivern

ｾ ｾ ..

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Ｈｾ

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Source: Based on Cilia de Portugal, <http:/(www.guiadepOth.tgal.pt/>. and on Ailrio'; ",'

Ambiente, <httpJ/www.iamblente.pt(atJas(est/index.jsp>.

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",',11' (;lId1'dol, is 111(' bl'lIdlllldrk (or ｬ Ｑ Ｈ Ｎ ｜ ｶ ｩ ｬ ｬ ｬ ｾ lIdd,'vl'd 1111' 1 \lV, ,It'd 111,11,;

1:1.11'" 1':1I'I'ly ｮｗ［ｬｲ､ｬｾ､ to Portuguese river ｢ ｃ ｩ Ｎ ｈ Ｚ Ｂ ｃ ｾ Ｌ II IIlHI 1'1"'11 created I I'l 1111 n stretch or the River Zezere and is associated with the Vallecullia ＱｩＨＧＺｾｴｩｖｩｬｬ of: lri.1ditional and popular music,

It is not the intention to defend the variety and quality of )'I)r-{llg,l1'S river beaches, and those mentioned above are simply l'xamples. But there are some genuinely valuable exploitations of 1Ii'llural nooks and crannies that have now become tourist products.

In this context it is hoped there will be major investment the provision of freshwater bathing areas in the area around the Alqueva rCHervoir, where it should be possible to achieve a combination of non-mass-tourism quality with practices generally linked with summer crowds and tourists.

It seems obvious that increased spare time should lead to more leisure interests, and these have become more and more varied with outdoor pastimes becoming especially important. Here we find that a great many extreme sports that until very recently were the province of a small group of people now account for tourist trips or visits in which adventure tourism and active recreation are the main objectives. To show how accessible these activities are (less extreme and more recreational), the 'harder' character has been removed and their ' softer' nature emphasized, as in 'calm water canoeing', 'soft hydrospeeding' and 'soft canyoning' (Hudson, 2003; Shephard and Evans, 2005). Buckley (2006: 1) uses the term 'adventure' "to mean guided commercial tours where the principal attraction is an outdoor octivity that relies on features of the natural terrain, generally requires specialized sporting or similar equipment, and is exciting for the tour clientsll •

There has thus been a democratizing and commercializing of extreme sports through active recreation and adventure tourism. So, while some practitioners are professionals, a great many of these activities are acquiring an ever-greater commercial value and are enjoyed by amateurs, sometimes as 'serious leisure', which Stebbins (J 992: 3) defines as lithe systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or voJunteer activity that is sufficiently substantial and interesting for the participant to find a career there in the acquisitions and expression of its special skills and knowledgell , According to Tomlinson (1997) cxlTeme sports are concerned with individualism, higher performance

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>'1'1,,'1:, wlllllilit \.,1'"\ tl"'-·'rli"I\I'.1 I,y " :111'11111',1;1' ,IIIVI"'I.,II\1, (),II "dV\-nl,II'y III II 1111111, "!,,,,, ii-I'I .1,11'111>1,,: llll' 1)!.II11'1 ,11\11 illl \'1"1111'111/1' ｾｩｬｬＬ

,',11'1'" 'lI1d wdl"I, -MOllY activ,' 1'I't'l"',i1ioll dnd ｡ ､ ｶ ･ ｮ ｴ ｵ ｮ ｾ tourism \1111'/:1"1.'1 (111'_'1

intimate contact with nature, with flight and desertion oilly 1)('1111\ 1111_: Idlimate option. Leisure now features overcoming ins!""d III compensating, in the challenge between oneself and nalun', ｉ ｉ ｉ Ｎ ｬ ｫ ｬ ｩ ｬ ｬ ｾ

the adventure more thrilling, a once-in-a-lifetime expcri('J)(',' \'vllil'l I

Stebbins (2006) calls "project-based leisure!'. Actually some active recreation and adventure tou rism [11'1 ivilli",

need technical knowledge and an understandi.ng of the chnnll'I\'ll'illi of the environment, not to mention specialized equipmelll, !',Ii1d,III1I' and supervision, Tourist activity agents have found 1'lv,".lIIII'11i

opportunities in many of these activities and the specific'ili,-:, ,II 1111' relatively close-at-hand natural resources. Firms that an' 11\1 II" 1111-'

oriented and interested in regional tourist products, :11111 WIlli'll

organise and sell recreationat sports or cultural activili"11 III 11

natural medium or in purpose built facilities, i.e. tou ri:,j( lid ivII \ enterprises and maritime-tourist operators - have thei,' OWl I

legislation] enabling agents wishing to operate in the mark\'l Itl Iilltl out the requirements for doing so, Important safeguards on' 111111,

provided relating to the interests, safety and satisfaction of tOllri::1!1; who are recognized as being increasingly exacting (Decree-' ,dW

108/2009, of 15 May), The legislation passed in the meantime is invested with gn,,,t

importance, since it allows the product to be both qualified and know] \. The legal framework provides for the registration and granting o( ,I

licence for engaging in the activity, with Turismo de Portugal bc'ill1\ responsible for organizing the Registo Nacional dos Agentes lIl' Animac;ao Turistica (National Register of Tourist Activity Agents) RNAAT. Examination of the RNAAT shows that in 2010 (on 17 May) there were 792 licensed tourist activity agents operating in Portugal.

Many of these active recreation and adventure tourism activili"il of a relatively extreme nature that fulfilled If this new way III occupying free time was almost always developed in territories whidl until then had not had any kind of mass enjoyment exploitation. Thvl" activities] are to some extent outside the traditional line:; III

development and exploit the direct contact with nature" (Cunha ,II\C I Cravidao, 2008: 133), This happened with many of the companies lhll developed products focused on water environments, particuL:lI'ly non-marine ones (Figure 7.4).

liiv,',:, I" '" ',li'lil' \.d!\- 1,'\,('illl,.Io1, liil ill Ii", II" ,,'illlllil oIlhl

'\.1\"111\111' 1,11111,," ｩ Ｌ ｨ ｩ ｾ Ｇ Ii' ii" .11 "I. "/','1 1111 \' 1111, "'.1 ,111,1 tl" 'II"" ｌ ､ ｬ ｾ Ｎ ｮ ｬ ｩ ｬ ｬ ｩ Ｇ 111,'\' il.pll',.t (1\1 .." II,' '(lllll) I,'", 1".III,,",Ii.1i Iilitii'" ""

1i\"'I;, ,111'1110111\' ,,1111 V,Ii/,'.I, ",,"'" 10 1\',," ')','1 wltll IiII' Ik'I\,' 111111"11)'1\

till' 1"l1I111I'VI.1"1·, Ilk" '''lIltll'III)'., ,,111t'l", 11''11111'" 1,lly:d,',II,'fl'ilil ,11I1i)',I,,'

1111 ,1111'1'11.11111 1'11:111, lik(' wltill'vv,d"I' Ｑ ｾ Ｑ Ｇ Ｉ Ｇ Ｎ ｉ ｬ ､ ｬ Ｇ Ｉ Ｇ Ｂ ".I!lyO"!lil'" J'nlll'll', lilli,'

Ｑ Ｑ Ｇ ｹ Ｂ Ｂ ｜ ｉ ｾ ｬ ｐ ｉ Ｇ Ｈ Ｇ ､ ｪ ｬ ｬ ｬ Ｇ Ｂ 111 t 'l'l1lJ'id I'ol'lllglli "IIll' MOIl""I',", VPI1)','1 ,111.1 I Ii, ｬＧｪｖｴＧｬＧｾ illlllllll'ir hydl'llgl',1!1hic l.J:lsins, plus ollll'l' riV\'I':I, 0111'1' "\""11,,,,, ,'llllllili()IlS for sniling, canoeing, r<lfl1ng, <Hlglill!', ,ll1d 01111'1' Ilpo' ","

(I '( )";(;,, 20'10: 276), (';.tnocs were used for tourism ot' explor<'llioll ill 1'!H' /')1 II ('('lilt II Y

,1I111 lodoy there has been a revival of interest in thl'l)), TIll' [,iv,'1' M0111JCg'O offers the best natural conditions for canol:ing ｾ ｬ ｬ ｬ ､ ibl

I'q',lJlor flow makes it particularly suitable for people with lilth, l'xpcrience, An equally good experience for people with lilt](' It'(;hnical knowledge is rowing down the River Zezere, especially lhl' ,11 retch from the Castelo de Bode dam to the village of Constancia, Tlw descent of the River Alva, meanwhile, included rapids and weirs I\("l 111ake it a much more thrilling experience, Other suitable places for canoeing are the River Guadiana, the Alqueva reservoir, River ｃ ｾ ｶ ｡ ､ ｯ Ｌ River Lima, River Douro and River Ber;a, to name but a few, This activity is offered pretty well all over the country by tourist i1C'l:ivity agents, as Figure 7.4-A shows, There are concentrations in the River Tejo basin, related to the Castelo de Bode dam; on the River Mondego around Coimbra; on the Mondego; Ceira and Alva rivers, \1l1 the River Vouga close to the River Caima, in the River Douro hydrographic basin and scattered along its main tributaries, and; f:urther north, in the hydrographic basins of the Lima and Cavado rivers, It is interesting to see how places as far inland as Miranda do I)ouro, on the International Douro; Penha Garcia and Moura have made use of nearby water environments to promote this activity,

Another active recreation and adventure tourism pursuit is descending rivers and streams and exploring the beds - canyoning, It needs specific geomorphological conditions since it is practised in reaches where there are steep drops and the valley walls are steep and closed in, because this is where the steepest slopes and deepest gullies and defiles occur - true canyons, They are made up of hard rocks like granite, quartz; schist and basalt. There are usually cliffs, relatively abundant waterfalls and fairly deep natural pools, all of which form natural obstacles, Canyoning is "regarded by many as the most multidisciplinary of all the escapist sports;' (Cavaco and Simoes; '1998: 202).

I Ii" 'I !\IIi1!! II I. II I,,,,, ,,", "Ii,',' ,"," "II' ll\i

"'iI\,,,,,i,,, II') ",[i,,,, i' 111,,111 ,II .. I'" ,lillI', III) 1'1 1"."lrl,

illll, "Hot I qdl" ｉ ｬ Ｌ ｾ I" 11\ I I dl\t1 Ｇ Ｑ ｾ Ｑ Ｑ ｬ l' ,.II',

ii, 1IIII,d ii,,1 1'''''''''"iI, III 1\1"1 '1110

\,l II (1'11'.,011 11 ,

• ｾＬｬＬ I

( )

OJ $0 la) Ｂ ｾ Ｑ

/ ':"'-

.3•ｾ -

No. of ,ellterprl506S

•

R]",,, ReseNolr

Hidrogfilp'hlll:: blMln

1m>00 -===:J''''.....""""'==,,'" ｾ［Ｎｯ

Source; Based on information from the Registo Nacional de Agentes de Anima<;ao 'fllrl:,II,'""

May 2010,

I ,lIlr"ilill,\ !iil!! ,1,,11 ,I ill !1t!11. III' 'II 1101 ,Ill t " I., ,11,,1 IVllld"iil; III II" LiI, 1'1111'1:\ 1"111,1111,,1 !\i1jid" "" \'.11 1,,1,," It ,11'\" III' 01 i,-, II" \ 1111", Ilotll II. Ｇｾ｜ｉｉＭｉＢｬｬｪ､ｬｱｩＬｬＬ 1",,111.,_',1 1I1"·ill,, iii tl,\ \1101111 "I

11\" II I" II \ tI I 'III I \ '1',' d (I' ;iIi,l i It' P I I \), II I 1111' :" 'I I" till ( "_'I'" I ,d, II I}', I11I l,iv"I' 1\1'"dl1, I\IV"I' ("lill"11 1.11111""1",, I'h·,'! P,d!.III, 1,1"", 11"1'1111 (,I

II'iIJiil'll'y III IIIl' I,iv,'" ( ',lId'I), 1\1\".1' I ',II'C'I'I'I'lh,I, 1,lvI'1' 1\111 PI'II (wlll\ II Jl:,,"; III IIIl' ."'innl dc' I\l'go), iliitl till' h:ivI'1' (11,) (ri:dll)', \11 111111',,11, ,III 1':1'111('1\1 wilhill llw ;\lv50 Nnliollnl Park, whil'll "(lIllliliOIII, "C','I':I:. III

ｬ ｬ ｬ ｩ ｾ Ｑ 1'01111'). Othel' ｮ Ｎ Ｉ ｬ Ｎ ｬ ｴ ｾ ｳ USe the ｒ ｩ ｶ ｾ ｲ Poio ill l'lll' ｾｪｬＧｬＧｲＺｬ dll ;\lv,\I1,

whidl fluws into the River Tilmcga, which ri,scS in Ih(' ,nlll1kip,lIily cd l,ill\'im <lc: Pena and has one of the longest cDnyonill)!, ｲＨＩｬｉｫｾｪＬ II I'l'ljclirl's greater technical knowledge, especially when l'he flow is 1II\'diLllYl to high, and so inexperienced canyoners are ｉ Ｇ ｬ ｾ ｣ ｯ ｲ ｮ ｮ ｷ ｮ ､ Ｈ Ｇ ､

III only go there in the summer. The River Saltadollro, which empties into the Salamonde reservoir which supplies the River Cavado, in the SI'ITC) da Cabreira, the River Cabrum, a tributary of the River Doum nnd the River Pombeiro, a tributary of the River Paiva, have c<lnyoning routes, too, In the Serra de Montemuro; on the River 'aima - Fraga da Mizarela in the Serra de Arada is also a popular

route; on the Ribeira de Manhouce, in the reach above the Ribeira de Vcssadas (tributary of the River Teixeira) and on the River de Frades, which flows into the River Paivo and on that river, too, a tributary of lhe River Paival in the Serra da Freita; on the River Teixeira, in the Scrras da Freita and de Aresta!, one of the most famous rivers for :::anyoning in Portugal, and on the River Paradw;a which flows into the River Teixeira; on the River Lordelo and River Branco, both tirbutaries of the Vouga.

It seems clear that Portugal has great potential for canyoning, with its "niche tourist territories" (Cavaco and Simoes, 2009: 34), particularly in northwest Portugal, Madeiral and the Azores islands of Flores, S. Miguel and S. Jorge, The combination of geology and geomorphology, diversity of wildlife and flora and good rainfall produce unique conditions to enjoy this sport. Canyoning is growing in popularity, largely because it is an adventure tourism extreme sport that involves risks and allows visitors to get to know some secluded, hard-to-get-to places.

Rafting is another pastime that surged in popularity in the last four decades of the 20th century (Jennings, 2007) and the early years of this millennium, Even though, according to Buckley (2009) it has received less attention in the literature, it nonetheless offers a wide variety of options, with a range of combinations between two quite distinct situations: one has more participantsl lasts for a shorter time,

!"!jli!lj"l !itt" 1.1 Illiit "I I "IIi IltlH i", 1.,'I',Ii'IV 11"'"'1' ,11111 h , 11)11\,".1 III

ｦ ｬ Ｎ ｩ ｩ ｬ ｾ Ｇ ,,(,_,_''1 d.1i ,01,11 '''' .. \'V,llili' ,II II" "II", ",1"'1.1,' IV .. Itil\" ,III "1111i1l1 1',11 Ii lill11tli 11111td .. I .. i j"'ool'j, I•• ,1,1'\111',1'1 111111 "''lldl'''' '"IIl,ld"I"I",' 1,.[IIIIi, ,iI "'1"'11111 II il'""-' 1"llIlIv,' Ｇ Ｂ ｉ Ｑ ｉ ｉ Ｌ ､ ｬ Ｇ ｾ Ｇ 1,1'"'1' ill 11\1111' 11'11\1111'

II' .". ;", Ii I ,tI I IIII', iill' "'-\1-' I.lId ｨ ｾ ｩ ｈ Ｇ 11,,111 .III 1tllll1' dlld \'(\VI'I' )1111101 It·\" ,,,oi,,,, '" it ,',III Ill'!1 :\"Vi'I,II,I.'y:1 ,11\.1 ,'\IV\'(' IlIlIId,','\1!1 lIt ,,111,'11, Ill-,' 1\

I, II j ,1,1\\11111\1' l'"llll':lcI" I'lVI'(' il\ 11\1' US;\, il\ till' (;1'1111(1 ('[lllyllil (/111111/1,

'illl'/) 1\111t111l-', is based on the potential energy of riVI'!' II\I\N:; 111111

'IVlllvl'S 1111vigating the descent of a river on a raft, Tht: spml 111'\'.1'

11"111)', flows and as fluctuating water speed and force tire illljllllt.\1I1 Lil'lors it. is best enjoyed between October and June, in \'nlllll'.,l1

/\"('Ilr<ling to Jonas (2007), even though the dangers an\\Hll1l Ip III1Iy II

II\'id spell of time, the adventure of facing them is key in 11'1'111,'111111'1

jdl'lllily of the rafters. Routes have different degrees of diUI. ,!lIV 1(1

IllIil people of different levels of experience, The most ｜ ｾ ｘ ｜ Ｇ ｪ ｬ ｬ ｩ ｬ ｬ Ｇ Ｌ 0111' 1111

winding routes which make for frequent, unexpecb'(/ IllId vii .11111

r<,pids; sometimes the risks are such that rafters need 111'11' 11111" 1111

kll1ks along the route. According to Swarbrooke et a1. (2003) rafting is 1111 ,,,IVI'IIII,,!

tourism activity since it is based on unknown natural c,I"Il1I'liI'l lilid <Ire unpredictable, which do only seem, but are very often h"I',"l'tlc 'II As Buckley (2009) notes, in rafting, as in other advent.lII'l' lin 111/l11\

activities, the key elements for the safety and satisfaction of L111' 1',111\'1'1,

are the guides, the equipment and the logistical conditions, Lilli III

mention the natural features of each route, Rafting emerged as an active recreation/adventure hlllJ'i:111l

activity on the River Minho in the mid 1990s, and this river is still 1111

excellent place to learn since its flow is such that rafting is possibk ,iii year round, though with changes from day to day, This is due to th., dams. Currently the rivers with the best natural conditions for rafting are the Minho, Tamegal 0101 Sabol', Tua - only practicable when l!WI'l'

is heavy rainfall - the Mouro and the Paiva. The last-named is thl' very best place in Portugal for rafting and is known as having tl\l' clearest waters in Europe, Tourist activity agents registered to ＨＩｲｬｾＨＧｲ rafting in mainland Portugal were, in May 20101 mostly based to 1'111' north of the River Tejo, and very close to the main hydrographk system (Figure 7.4-C), It is also possible to go hydrospeeding on Ihl' same rivers, This is another active recreation/adventure ｴ ｯ ｵ ｲ ｩ ｾ ｬ ｬ ｩ ｬ

activity which involves white water, but in this case the descent i: made on a board which resembles a sled, face down, with the legs ill contact with the water and using flippers, TIi.ere were only 25 tourinl activity agents registered in mainland Portugal as of May 2(n II

I III [II' \ i"' ill f'il

N,llIllr.ll ,H'livili"N I'dated 1'0 1,'lNIIII' .11"111,, ... 111111 III

III [,'rillS of nDutiCQI activities till' lJllildlt,l', ()I Illl'k;l h,oIs mnck il I'llMSihll' 10 tllke advantage of bodies of wate!' in rivers Dnd improvt' 1'I1('il' Illlvigab'ilily, This is exemplified in Portugal on the Hiver Domo. Ｑ Ｑ Ｑ ｾ ［ Ｑ to be on a boat when the lock fills or drains is in itself a wonderful, and different! experience, But what is really interesting is l'iVlll' navigability, and here the River Douro achieves moments of hl'l:othtaking beauty. The tourist market has exploited this resource with the creation of specific products accommodating a full range of time scales and pockets.

This river has in fact enjoyed the greatest investment in terms of navigability, The 1960s to the 1980s saw the construction of major hydroelectric projects on the Douro. The Carrapatelo was the first, in 1971, and the last was the Crestuma-Lever dam, completed in 1986, and it was about 10 years later that the river cruise industry really began to grow, as we shall see below, Two factors played a part in this growth of demand. First was the control of the flow with the onstruction of the dams, and second was the award of UNECO

World Heritage status to Porto!s historic centre (1996) and the Alto Douro Vinhateiro region (2001), "In older times there was the coming tlnd going of boats laden with cargos of wine, Today we have different boats, bigger, safer and faster! and instead of wine they have a cargo of tourists" (Simoes, 2008; 213). Tourist cruises on the River Domo cover a stretch of 210 km from the estuary to Barca d'Alva; it contains around 50 river quays and about 54 tourist boats operate on it3 run by about 23 operators4, The variety of trips is enormous, from short cruises on small vessels to excursions that go to Regua, Pinhao or Barca d'Alva; there are ship-hotels, for week-long cruises, and themed cruises (almond blossom! grape harvest! castles... ). River tourism is actually an opportunity to discover the heritage and visit unique sites and learn about the economic development of localities, and "to see the original shape of the landscapes and their riches" (Damien, 2001: 10), According to Damien (2001) the attraction of the water has made it possible to exploit three distinct geographical areas: 'blue', those directly linked to the water; 'green'! those associated with trails on the banks! and!grey', the surrounding build mban landscape.

!'iil'!,i i ,h 1I"li\' Iii',! "I 'I !!I!\dl !!'"I1,1 1I1 I I .11111111 llPI"lilll1lillll III

I",illl II ii" "1101 ,i'" , '\I!,J'''II ii" 1."\"'1 11\011'" I'j h\' !,1' 1111" 1"'11 • ,.llIld,' IlIiI II,. I, j"\11l1 t 01111,11,11"'-' ,-,r-li Ilh'" III'Ihlllflll\ri" 14,1,11'"" Ii'

1111'/'" d' II\'ilil '. III' ｉ Ａ ｉ ｖ ｾ Ｇ Ｑ Ｚ 1,11,"11."11' 11111. 1'1"'11 !',I"IIIII/" f',l 1111111 I ill

1,'1l1li. 111 1"111111" 1111,1 Ｑ ｜ ｬ ｉ ｉ ｉ Ｇ ｩ ｾ ｬ ｉ ｬ ｩ ,1III\1llll'1l, II'q'""y 111"111..:1 1\1 1111' Alq11"V11 ,111111 "'lI11pl,'\, 1"llilll', pi IIII' ｉ Ｇ ｬ Ｇ ｾ ｬ ｬ Ｇ ｲ ｶ ｾ Ｉ ｩ ｬ Ｇ sl.lrli'd Itl Ｒ Ｎ Ｈ Ｉ Ｈ ｬ ｾ ｩ Ｌ lIllIl 1111'

ｉｬｬｬｉｬｉｬｃＧｩｰｬｬｬｩｬｩＬＧｾ ot 1"ll'l,'I, MOll I'll, Ｈｾｶｯｲｮ nnd IkjL1 h,IV,' 1111 kit tl'l' 1"'lwrits sinn: thl; I'l::,wrvllir has allowed a cOllsidl'l'lIhl,' "Xl'lllll1lllll "I

,wliv,' I'l'creational activities in a water env i1'()J1 IYIl'I II, III Ild.II,,1 "lll'LlIgwl (Figure 7.5),

The obvious popularity of water environments wilh IlHIJi:lh Ｂ Ｎ ｉ ｾ

led to considerable investment being made to make the: ｉＱｬＨＩｾＱＱ III 111,1',1,11

on'as, lagoons and riversides. The exploitation, of ripariilll w,II,'I!III'11

und the search for alternative types of tourism to IlUl.'1H Illllrlrdll I," prompted interest in the re-use and recreation of ｡ ｲ ｃ ｄ ｾ lit,k"d \,vltl, 11,'1.

maritime aquatic features. Among the aims of t]'1(' I'olin l'IIl!',I'"l1l1l1. which is sponsored by the Ministry for Cities! Terrilori:d I'I'IIIIIIII/l il't. i the Environment in conjunction with some local Clllthorlll,"'. IV,", 1,,11'\

important in pursuing the restitution or retrieval of; blltll"l1111 IV'I\I' ;", the public, since access to them had long since been n((I'I'II'" I,\, V"i 11,"

usages - public and private (industrial, military, ｴ Ｚ ｝ Ｇ ｡ ｬ ｬ ｾ ｰ Ｐ ｉ Ｇ ｉ Ｂ ) III lit

context "urban planners, architects, geographers Hilli IIlIlrI·.I·, 1111

linking a town's image more and more with that of its riwl', III 1111' 1,"1,,1 where urban developments strive to make rivers and ('1111011/1 IpI,,1

points" (Damien, 2001: 92). The Council of Ministers Resolution 90/2008 establislll's 11",1 'I

series of regeneration and upgrading operations will be Llnd('I'LI)..I·1I

in risk areas and natural areas that have fallen into degradatioll Oil

the coast. This project is called Polis Litoral - Opera(:oes integratlll:; "" requalifica(:Cio e valoriza(:ao da oria costeira, and it embodies the 1''1(:(:<"1 10

make better use of the potential and opportunities in wull'" environments, both marine and river-related. Moreover, 20:10 is 1'111' year of the creation of the Polis dos Rios (!Polis' for rivers) initialiw, with the aim of regenerating and upgrading the country's rivf'l'il\(' areas. It is planned to implement it now in the Domo, VOLlf," Mondego and Tejo estuaries! in coordination with the Polis Litond project.

So riversides today are attracting investment and fOStl'ril'/', development of great value in terms of image and symbolism. Till')' can become territorial emblems, as has happened with confen'lll'(' centres! hotels! parks and gardens, cultural and sports amenilil'::, giving the land nearby Significantly more value. Since the rivers fl(lW

III I, ,III I I ,,' ,. 41 i If!!l I I,ll, t II II I Ii i ,f I. lj I 1111 I II \ , 1- ＬＭＧ｜ｾ j II 111'1

l'I'I"lJ 1hl , "IJ 111,1'''1' 'lolli' ｬ ｩ ｬ ｬ ｾ ｩ ｬ ｬ II" 'lid 11"1' Ｇ Ｑ Ｇ Ｂ ｉ ｾ 111'Ilillilloilitl

I\111111\,11. ill "I 'I '11111

ｾ ,

j No. of enterprises

•.32

.6 •

'-- RIver

J Reservoir

o Hldrollr"pllic!Jasln

o so 100 _.__-====:=J'I(I1l

Source: Based on information from the Registo Nacional de Agentes de Anima<;ao Turistica, May 2010.

through several municipal areas these projects are of strategic benefit to regional development (Simoes and Vale, 2002).

11111. I II Ii I n II

1I'Inlflii '1111 Ii Ii, '. 11\ " 11\1' ,,'1111,,'11\/1 h"vc' ItlW,lytl ILI.I 1\ IIII'H' 1!,'Llllol' III IIII' ,h,\"" ll ...y iill\'\'IIJ'Il't\ ill Ill'" W,'V l!'i'i' III l\llll"

·,il:,l.lill"hh' dillt'l'c'nl \. 11111:, III ＱＧ｜ﾷｮｬｈｬｬｬｬｩｬｾｓＮ ClIJ'l'l'lItly J'iVI'I'I, 1"IIVld,' 1'1

1VI',dlh of oul,dool' l'I't'l'l'illional nctivilies. In post IlIOth'I'I1 :lI11i,'ly '"1,1

ill I'l)st-fordist. eeOl\o(ny we can assist of <:l widl'spn'"t! pi :h'll'i'I' 1"\'1.1I1'd to water environments and of an emergent IH'W 1111111 "I

IOllJ'ism: river tourism, In Portugal in most: recent yl';}rs 'hi:, 11I'li.l t'vidcnt, many of small enterprises find in local wah'!' 1'(':llll1l1l", ,11111

iII leisure and tourism activities new economic OJlporlll1 Ii II.,·. fill

employment and income selling emotions and cxpl'J'il'IIl'I'ri, ' 11",11111' faCilities, namely associated with rivers,

Rivers usually offer two kinds of tourism activilic':" lilli' III II" III

is located on the river banks, beside the rivers, 'lIld 1111' '1111"1 loll. place on the rivers. The most typical activities th"l Wc' ,'1111111111,,11,111

rivers are tours and Sightseeing cruises - shoJ't 01' 1011/', 111,"11111' downstream or upstream, these activities always 0["" :11\ '_'\1 illil

experience through scenic and cultural landscapes, illt'llldlll/', 11,'1(1,,11

and built environments that changed along its ShOl'('11 ,1111) l\'llli"

sports, most of them are identified as forms of advenlul'I' 1111111'111, Ilh white-water canyoning, rafting, hidrospeed, amongst oI:J1('J'1I, rvLIII\' "I these activities could be included in niche tourism and for I'dr. IIV"\

tourism potential the natural feature of water is very imp0J'tall!. Willi

respect to river tourism, nautical and aquatic activilil':l ,IIi'

increasingly gaining importance in Portugal, and infrastrUl'llll'l' 111 support of these activities has expanded to keep pace. Quays JUIV,' been renovated, navigability projects have been developed foJ' riVl'1':I. particularly on the Douro, the Arade and the Guadiana, and III'W marines and recreational harbours have been incorporated In riV('J'sidl' regeneration projects. A few initiatives have been mentioned 11"1'1' where the investment in the navigability of Portugal's rivers - "nllll

navigable rivers have limited recreational potential, with the VI']'

important exceptions of walking and angling" (Patmore, 1983: 2(7), and idea also highlighted by Glyptis "non navigable rivers SUPP(H t

mainly angling and informal bank-side recreation" (1991: 9) -, (lilt! i1\

the creation of harbours and marinas inland, where there is 1l101i1

potential, is regarded as strategic.

It is absolutely essential to upgrade the areas where many of llw active recreation and adventure tourism activities take place, to erellll' support amenities in strategic places where canoeing, rafting I1nd

1-I\f,1 j i 'J'I iC,',(ii '1\ 1i,1I1 'oil dllli lilllllll; ,tl,,1 II "'.'/I,'j 111;11 I! i II ill i',., I III !o1 1,1,,,1111"1 'III ,'lat", ,11,,1 ,,-,

1111\'llIoIll,',M'dlv" 111,', 111111' II tli II'. ,,;,iI. III, I /11111' i III Ｑ Ｌ ﾷ ｾ Ｂ

W 01' t 'I' 'I' 1,1111 Y Ii" t I !1:1 1'I',1I1," 1111'1'1>' ! II I' III Illl' II t III ｴ ｬ ｾ ［ I 1'1" I' V .I Ii""

I'l 1111111)' ｬ ＼ Ｇ ｩ ｾ Ｚ ｴ ｬ ｬ Ｇ Ｂ ,"td 1IlIld'il oIl,lvill'''1 "I!l'n'd in i11l;1I1d woIl,'!' t'11ViI"0I1JllI'11ls, l.!nd 11l.1Y l'OIJ'I"'llllt!rw 111111"1:11 l'xploitalio!1, TIll' v;)rinlls ｉ ｉ ｓ Ｌ ｾ ｓ and interests of ｬ ｨ ｾ JiJ(('J'('ll1 ng,'llts and inlerest gl'OllPS

"hsolutcly must be reconciled if environmental and economic sustainability are to be achieved. In the context of river tourism, whether this concerns nautical or aquatic activities, it is crucial to know which parts of the country offer most potential for which recreational activities, to know what infrastructures and facilities they have, to understand possible demand for such activities, its seasonal fluctuation and what motivates it, to understand interest in additional tourist products, and various other factors, Only then is it possible to structure the supply of and promote demand for river tourism, In Portugal, river tourism is a tourist product which should be valued, and this involves investing in the navigability of Portugal's rivers and creating resorts for active recreation and adventure tourism, and promoting a structured range of tourist products.

Active recreation and adventure tourism activities offered in non-marine water environments must be supplemented with a properly structured range of products on land so as to exploit local natural and cultural assets, So the 'heritagization' and Imusealization' of the aspects associated with water have been a strategy which is gaining ground in Portugat but they have to be properly organised.

So water, and the exploitation of its related resources through reorganization, upgrading, functionaIre-assignment, and various rehabilitation schemes are fund amental to territorial sustainability strategies as a presumption of local and regional social-economic development and the affirmation of the national territory within the framework of international tourism.

Notes

1 The first law passed in Portugal to regulate the establishment and operations of the tourist activities agency business was Decree-Law 204/2000, of 1 September, amended by Decree-Law J08/2002, of 16 April. This and other legislation passed in the meantime was revoked by Decree-Law 108/2009, of 15 May, The recent dates of these laws show not only that the activities themselves are relatively recent but also that they are expanding, and strategically important.

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